Nokia and the University of Cambridge jointly designed a concept mobile phone that allows users to mould the handset into different shapes.
Nokia_morph_2 Nokia's Morph: formed from shape-altering substances
Dubbed Morph, the handset has been designed to demonstrate the possible future benefits of nanotechnology for mobile …

Be useful for when you sit on your phone

Unless I see a video...

@ Rob Grant

Sitting on a phone that can change its shape might not be such a good idea. What if the nanotech decides to reshape to fit the available orifice. Now whilst some might find this to be a good, nay enjoyable experience........

Proof or STFU

Hey! Now that we know how to make a phone...

... we could have a phone made out of morphing nano-materials, if only we knew how to make morphing nano-materials.

What a gyp. This thing doesn't exist in any sense of the word. We can all sit around and pluck ideas for magical devices out of whichever orifice we most favour, but that doesn't make it a "design". This is pure made-up hype, it's no more real than the artificially intelligent talking yoghurt that that BT futurist nutjob was going on about a while back.

Not all hype

From Nokia's FAQ on the phone...

Q. Are there currently any physical examples of the concept phones?

A. There are physical mock-ups available, as well as animations and concept designs that help explain what Cambridge University and Nokia are developing. There are also real examples of each individual concept and physical demonstrations are available. However, we are not yet ready to integrate them into one device. That will take a few years.

hmmm.....

concept only, in other words, it only exists on someones PC someehere. If it does have a physical existance it will indeed be like those none-functional concept cars that the motor manufacturers are so enamoured of and haul at great expense around car shows. If the project runs true to form expect to see a product roughly resembling, but essentially nothing like the concept in question in any way..... just like the car industry ....in about 10 years time (just like the car industry). File under marketting fluff.

I can see this going awry

So, it can change shape ..... that's not necessarily a point in its favour. You can mistake anything for a polymorph!

The only "new" feature I want in a mobile phone, and one that nobody seems to offer, is for nobody to be able to call it with their number withheld. This is the telephonical equivalent of sneaking up behind someone while wearing a mask and grabbing them, and it damned well ought to be illegal. If someone knows my number, I have a *right* to know theirs.

How about..

..we get some basics sorted first.

I'd suite like something to keep my ear cool during prolonged conversations, maybe some sort of clip at teh top of teh phone so instead of haivng a sperate device I can just hook the bugger to my head (or stick it under headphones as I do at the minute)

Then there's basics of GUIs. Anyone who's used a Sony Ericsson and mistyped a word knows how annoying the "OH dear, I couldn't find the word you were looking for, so instead of just doing nothing or just printing rubbish I will display an annoying popup for a few seconds". And the fact I can;t save (or even sort) text messages by WHO sent them has annoyed me since.. well since phone were able to hold more than 6 messages.

Can I even back the texts up on my computer? No. Can I at least get a big text dump of them? Not easily I shoudln't imagine.

Proper nanite-based stuff is far more "flexible" than that anyway, I shoudl be able to download a new schematic for a phone layout and have my phone organise itself into that, not just some pre-programmed settings. Having a phone I could just bend around my wrist would be cool though. Don't wear a watch when I have phone.

nano tech

Flexi-everything

For a start, we'd need flexible batteries (already exist, I know) flexible speaker & mic, flexible little motors with eccentric weights (vibra-thingies), and, more importantly, a market that actually demands flexible mobile phones. The "smaller phone=greater sales" trend is so 2005 as the success of behemoths like the Nokia N-series, E-Series etc can demonstrate. How can I use a QWERTY hologramic keyboard on a phone that insists on bending whenever I press a pseudo-button?

Nokia already make a morphing phone...

Any current N series... leave it long enough and bits break off, fall off, come loose and the phone begins to take on all sorts of new shapes than when you first bought it. Leave it a few months and it will even rattle enough to be used as a nice percussion instrument.....